Improvement in manufacture of iron



E. PETTITT. Manufapture of Iron.

Patented Sept. 9, 1879.

NJETERS, FHOTOUTHOGRAPHERI WASHINGTON D C UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWIN PETTITT,OF OHELTENHAM, ENGLAND.

f IMPROVEMENT IN MANUFACTURE OF IRON/ Specification forming part ofLetters Patent No. 219,410, dated September 9, 1879 application filedFebruary 7, 1879; patented in England, July 6, 1878.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWIN PETTITT, of Oheltenham, England, civilengineer, have invented or discovered certain new and usefulImprovements in the Manufacture of Iron, of which the following is aspecification, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forminga part of the same, and illustrating the apparatus employed for carryingmy invention into practice.

My invention relates to a method of producing fibrous or wrought ironfrom cast-iron and consists, essentially, in incorporating thoroughlywith the molten iron, by means of an air-blast, finely-powdered glass,glassy slag, or other similar substance that will not decompose andcombinewith the iron, which substance will, in the main, rise to thesurface of the metal, leaving filmy traces through its substance,whereby the iron is rendered fibrous.

The object of the invention is to produce from cast-iron a fibrous ironthat may be rolled welded, and otherwise similarly wrought, theinvention being, in fact, an improvement on the well-known process ofpuddling.

In puddling iron to produce wrought or fibrous iron, it is well knownthat the fibrous character is imparted by the mechanical admixture ofcinder with the mass; otherwise the resulting metal would not befibrous.

, foreign matter, such as glass, glassy slag,

feldspar, and similar substances that do not decompose and chemicallycombine with the iron, by. means of an air-blast, whereby the saidmatters, in a state of fine subdivision, may be brought into contactwith every particle of the iron. These substances (as well as the earthymatters contained in the iron at firstirise, in the main, to the surfaceof the molten iron as slag, but not, however, entirely, as they leavebehind, in the body of the iron, traces or tracks of their vitrifiedsubstance, thus blown in and through it, which eventually leave'the ironin a finely-fibrous condition.

In the process of blowing, the iron is converted into a cellular mass,honey-combed, and as porous as pumice; and it is while it is in thiscondition that these cells become coated with films of the vitrifiedpowder blown into the mass. By the time the process is complete the ironshrinks down, becomes homogeneous, closes up the myriads of cells, andby so doing incloses the filmy coatings of the cells. This coating, asbefore stated, is small in quantity,

but is sufficient to determine the character of verter or other suitablereceiver, and after the process is completed I pour the molten metalinto ingot-molds, to be subsequently reheated, hammered, and rolled.

In other cases I incorporate the powdered foreign matters with the ironin a puddlingfurnace, employing the blower precisely as in theformercase; and when the process is completed the iron is balled up in lumpsof suitable size, and taken to the hammer to be forged into billets.

The rationale of my process is based upon the old process of puddling,but applied in a new manner, which produces a much better metal at areduced cost. I consider it, in fact, a combination of the Bessemerprocess with the puddling process.

I am aware that grognd iron ore, anthracite coal, and similar substanceswhich will decompose under the influence of the heat and combine withiron, so as to chemically purify it and alter its nature, have beenblown into the same in a finely-divided condition; but these are forpurifying alone, and the resultant is cast-iron, and 'not fibrous orwrought iron, as produced by my improved method.

I may, however, combine such purifying substances with the substances Iemploy, so as to purify the iron at the same time that it is renderedfibrous.

In the apparatus I prefer to employ in carrying out my improvedmanufacture, as shown in the drawings, Ais a hollow chamber, of anyconvenient size or form, communicating at one end, through the pipe B,with the main blast pipe from the blower, and at the other end, by thepipe D, with the converter; or, if any other form of receiver or furnaceis employed,

, the pipe D is provided with a hollow instrn= ment, E. This instrumentconsists of a pipe ortube having atits outer end a nozzle, with one ormore outlets, e e; This nozzle I prefer to make offire-clay or softglazed ware.

F is a hopper or funnel, mounted upon the chamber A, communicatingtherewith, and arranged to hold the charge of powdered foreign matter tobe introduced into the fluid metal by the blast.

If a cold blast beemployed, the connectingpipes B and D may be made ofrubber or other flexible material; but if a hot'blast be used, theseconnections should be of metal.

If a converter be employed, the chamber A may be fixed at any pointbetween the main blast-pipe and the said converter.

When a blast of air is sent through the apparatus, the foreign materialin the hopper F is drawn down or falls down, and is conveyed into themass of molten iron, as above set forth.

If it is desired to produce a pure, or nearly pure, iron, I use aperfectly-vitrified glass or slag, as free from metallic oxides aspossible.

The ordinary black bottle glass or cullet, or a gray, tough, and glassyblast-furnace slag, are the cheapest materials and the best for thepurpose.

The whole quantity of such foreign matters so mixed and incorporatedwith the metal should not be less than one-half of one per cent. normore than six per cent. of the weight of the charge of iron operatedupon.

When a pure, or nearly pure, iron is produced in the manner herein setforth, it can, while undergoing the operation, be changed into a metalof a harder or more steely nature by the admixture of a proportion ofspiegeleisen or other iron, as is well understood.

Having thus described my invention, I claim The method of making fibrousor wrought iron from cast-iron herein described, which consists inblowing into or through the charge of molten iron finely-powdered glass orglassy slag, or other similar substance, which will rise, in the main,to the surface of the metal, but will leave non-decomposed filmycoatings or traces throughout the mass while it is in a cellularcondition, thus rendering it fibrous and capable of being wrought,hammered, or welded, substantially as specified.

In witness whereof I, the said EDWIN PETTITT, have hereunto set my handthis 28th day of December, 1878.

EDWIN PETTITT.

Witnesses:

ALEXANDER LORELL,

2 Wellington Place, Oheltenhmi. ROBERT A. H. BAYLIS,

7 Ti'volt' Terrace, Oheltenhmn.

